I'm the Director of Sportsimpacts and an Economics Professor at the George Herbert Walker School of Business at Webster University in St Louis, MO.
I've conducted research at Super Bowls, Final Fours, All-Star Games, Ryder Cups, and numerous Division I NCAA Championship events.
www.sportsimpacts.net
www.webster.edu/business/depts/

ACC's New $3.6 Billion Television Deal Still Pales in Comparison to Pac-12's Deal

Tobacco Road is smiling as their financial position changed for the better on Thursday.

But their deal still pales in comparison to the Pac-12′s new setup, and likely sets the stage for other conferences such as the SEC and Big 12 to financially surpass them in the near future.

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My first session at the 2012 Sports Lawyers Association’s annual meetings in San Diego on Thursday was entitled College Conferences and Their Own Networks: Will College Sports Be Changed Forever. It was during this session that I learned of the breaking news regarding the ACC’s new 15-year, $3.6 billion pact with ESPN which lasts until 2027.

This means an average of $240 million annually for the conference, or $17.14 million per school.

Compared to the approximate $13 million they were receiving per school previously, that’s good. Real good. A 32% increase in TV money. Who wouldn’t be psyched about a 32% increase in pay, right?

However, this deal still pales in comparison to the Pac-12′s new TV pact for 2 reasons. Money and control.

The Pac-12 deal is 12 years and $3 billion. So not only is that more money annually for the conference ($250 million) compared to the ACC deal, but with only 12 conference members that yields more money per school ($20.83 million to be exact) than what the ACC just secured for its soon-to-be 14 conference members.

Remember, bigger isn’t always better unless the added monetary benefits from expanding into new markets and adding new teams exceeds the cost of additional revenue sharing.

Moreover, as noted at the SLA conference by the Pac-12′s VP of Business Affairs Woodie Dixon, the Pac-12 owns 100% of its own equity. They have much greater control of their brand management and sponsorships than the ACC will have.

With the SEC and Big-12 likely to renegotiate new TV deals in the near future as their conference alignment has changed recently, they should be the beneficiaries of significant increases in their respective TV deals.

SEC football has established itself as the dominant brand in college football, and if it isn’t clear by now folks, college football is the force that’s fueling these TV rights increases.

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